Review of The Question, Shark, Steppenwolf, Cyborg Superman
DC Universe Classics wave 11 action figures part 1

Introduction

Finding DC Universe Classics has become a major past time for many collectors. Spotty distribution, weird shipping schedules, short production runs, odd case packs, all make finding a full set and building the Collect and Connect figure more than a tad daunting.

With Wave 11, MattyCollector offered the full set online, theoretically minus the one variant. The set includes Steppenwolf (in both a classic green outfit and more modern red outfit), John Stewart Green Lantern, Katma Tui Green Lantern, The Question, Shark, Deadman, and Cyborg Superman. There's a variant of Deadman as well, with clear body parts. While this was supposedly not shipping with the MattyCollector orders, I have heard of some folks getting him that way.

The CnC figure is Kilowog, another Green Lantern character. With Supes wearing the Sinestro Corps outfit, and the Shark one of their enemies, the overall theme is clearly GL.

But getting the set through Matty wasn't cheap, with a whopping $120 price tag for the eight figures. Then again, with some stores now charging nearly $15 each for these, maybe it wasn't such a bad deal.

I ordered mine many moons ago through on online retailer, and the set includes both Steppenwolf versions, but not the variant Deadman. I'll be searching for him now, hoping that local retail does right by me.

Seven figures (plus a BAF) are way too many to cover in a single review, so I'm splitting this up into two. Tonight I'm looking at Steppenwolf, Cyborg Supes, Shark and the Question.

Packaging - ***
The packages continue the tradition built over the last 10 series, with decent graphics and a nice inclusion of personalized character information the back. The photos of each figure in the wave on the back is also useful, particularly if you're determining whether you've found that variant you're looking for or not.

They did add stickers to the front of the bubbles on some of these, like Steppenwolf ("First time in 6 inch!"), calling out special details.

Sculpting - Steppenwolf, Question ****; Supes, Shark *** 1/2
I wasn't expecting to love this series - I'm not a huge Green Lantern Corps fan, and none of these figures really excited me.

But once I had them out of the package, I realized this whole wave was a home run. Out of these four, The Question was the biggest surprise, because he's just a dude in a suit. And yet the detailing on the outer coat is so good, the smooth expression on the blank face so perfect, the overall look so dead on, that he really wowed me.

Steppenwolf is another big hit. There's lots of details in the added armor, and the face is sculpted with fine lines and sharp cuts. Even the small rivets are sculpted, a level of detail we don't always see with DCUC.

He also has the cool backpack, attached to his ax. There's a slot to store the ax, Ghostbusters style, and you have several options for displaying it in place.

I haven't opened the green version yet, but he looks even better than the red, particularly if you're a fan of the more classic style. We just recently saw this costume on Batman: Brave and the Bold, so kids may be more familiar with it.

Considering the scale, Cyborg Supes has an incredible amount of detail in his metallic components. I've always been a fan of the Cyborg look for the Man of Steel, and they've done a nice job in the small scale translation. He does score a hair lower though, because the head is a tad too small for the very wide shoulders. It's quite obvious from some angles, but from others, he can pass.

I also docked Shark slightly too, again for the head sculpt. I love the fact that this grade B (and I'm being generous) character got a plastic version in the DCUC series, but he didn't translate perfectly. This version of the Shark is a mutated tiger shark (there is another version of the character who is actually a human villain, wearing a shark mask), and is an enemy of the Green Lantern. Because of the standard base body, the sculpted head looks exactly like what it is - a sculpted shark head popped on a human body. The transition around the neck doesn't work well, with the gills and jawline sticking out from the neck post quite a ways.

It's still a pretty minor quibble though, and getting this character in 3 dimensional form is pretty cool. The fins on his back, arms and legs look great, and his hands are both fists, which works since he has no accessories to hold.

All the figures are in the standard 6" scale, and use the same bodies as previous figures. That means they all fit in well, especially with the rest of the Corps.

Paint - Steppenwolf, Supes, Question ***1/2; Shark **1/2
The paint work is fairly strong across these four, with some obvious exceptions.

The Question and Supes have the most complex paint jobs. The Question's outfit has layers, each with a different color scheme. He doesn't have a ton of paint details, but the small buttons are done cleanly in black.

Supes has a very intricate paint job, as he is wearing the Sinestro Corps outfit. The cut lines between the red and black are all quite sharp, and the silver has a nice metallic appearance.

As I mentioned, I haven't opened the green Steppenwolf so I can't be sure about him, but the paint job on the red version is also extremely nice. Again, he has some very sharp cut lines, particularly around the face. The mustache and beard are a *smidge* messy, but you'll only notice his imperfections under close scrutiny.

Finally, there's Shark. He has a good job on the eyes, but the teeth are quite sloppy. It's too bad, because the salmon colored uniform looks great, and without the sloppy teeth, he would have scored much higher here.

Articulation - ***1/2
These figures have the same great articulation design as the rest of the series, just as you'd expect since they are using the same base bodies. There's the ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders, cut biceps and thighs, pin elbows and knees, cut wrists, cut waist, crunch ab joint, pin ankles, and special hinge hips that allow for a tremendous number of poses.

These base bodies also allow for some of the most naturally fluid poses in this scale I've evern seen. They simply couldn't get much better...

Except for the neck. Once again, while it is a ball joint, there's almost no ability to tilt or rock the head. I got a little more mobility out of the Question, but not much, and had the neck worked they way it should, these would get a full score here.

Accessories - Green Steppenwolf ***1/2; Steppenwolf ***; the rest **1/2
I'm assuming here that you care about the Kilowog figure. If not, you can take away the **1/2 stars given to the majority of the figures, because they ONLY have the BAF piece as an accessory.

That's a bit of a let down, but at least Steppenwolf has a weapon. In the red outfit, he has an ax (attached to his funky backpack), and in the classic green outfit he has a sword. The green also has a whip, as well as a horn, making him the figure with the most accessories out of the series.

The rest of the figures come with some piece for the Collect and Connect Kilowog. I'll be reviewing him with the final three figures later this week, but let's just say he rocks. Getting this entire set just to get that figure wouldn't be a surprise.

Fun Factor - ****
These are terrific action figures, some of the best currently on the market. Excellent sculpts, great articulation - kid's could have a blast with these, if the characters speak to them. Out of these four, I think that Shark and Supes have the most kid potential, but all four are a ton of fun.

Value - **1/2
I'm still seeing these for around $12 - $13 each in this neck of the woods, but it looks like that with wave 12 and beyond we'll be paying even higher prices. Right now, I'm giving these an average score here, but at $14 or even $15 each, they'll be losing another half star.

Things to Watch Out For -
Steppenwolf's ax is a bit on the soft side, so you'll want to take care when putting it in (and taking it out) of the hands. That's about it!

Overall - Steppenwolf, Question, Supes ***1/2; Shark ***
This is clearly a Green Lantern series, and it's quite a good one at that. Of course, Steppenwolf really goes with the New Gods figures, many of which we've already gotten with past waves. But Supes and Shark fit in great with your Green Lantern display, and the Question can go just about any where, although I bet most folks will pair him up with other Justice League characters.

I love the DC Universe Classics series overall, but it's always nice when a wave surprises me like this one did. I had fairly low expectations, and yet some of these figures are the best we've seen all year. In fact, the Kilowog Collect and Connect figure (that I'll review next time) is one of the best they've ever produced.

Now I just have to find that damn Deadman with the clear hands...

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Steppenwolf, Question ****; Supes, Shark *** 1/2
Paint - Steppenwolf, Supes, Question ***1/2; Shark **1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - Green Steppenwolf ***1/2; Steppenwolf ***; the rest **1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - Steppenwolf, Question, Supes ***1/2; Shark ***

Where to Buy 
These guys are just now starting to hit retail stores, so I'd give them a shot for at least the next month. While finding the variants is never easy, it's gotten less frustrating to find the regular figures with a little patience.

Related Links -
I've covered a bunch of these waves:

- last was wave 10 of course, with some here and some here.

- you can find wave 9 part 1 here, and part 2 over here.

- I split wave 8 up into two parts, one here and one here.

- prior to that was wave 7 (duh), which I covered here.

- I broke wave six into two reviews, one here and one here.

- no, I never reviewed wave 5, but prior to that was wave 4 which I also broke into this review, and this one.

- of course, prior to that was wave 3.

- I covered wave 1 in two parts, one here and one at here. It took me so freakin' long to find them, I never did review wave 2, but if you're looking for one, Kastor's Korner has a great review.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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